syslog-ng Open Source Edition 3.19 - Administration Guide

Preface Introduction to syslog-ng The concepts of syslog-ng Installing syslog-ng The syslog-ng OSE quick-start guide The syslog-ng OSE configuration file source: Read, receive, and collect log messages
How sources work default-network-drivers: Receive and parse common syslog messages internal: Collecting internal messages file: Collecting messages from text files wildcard-file: Collecting messages from multiple text files linux-audit: Collecting messages from Linux audit logs network: Collecting messages using the RFC3164 protocol (network() driver) nodejs: Receiving JSON messages from nodejs applications mbox: Converting local e-mail messages to log messages osquery: Collect and parse osquery result logs pipe: Collecting messages from named pipes pacct: Collecting process accounting logs on Linux program: Receiving messages from external applications python: writing server-style Python sources python-fetcher: writing fetcher-style Python sources snmptrap: Read Net-SNMP traps sun-streams: Collecting messages on Sun Solaris syslog: Collecting messages using the IETF syslog protocol (syslog() driver) system: Collecting the system-specific log messages of a platform systemd-journal: Collecting messages from the systemd-journal system log storage systemd-syslog: Collecting systemd messages using a socket tcp, tcp6, udp, udp6: Collecting messages from remote hosts using the BSD syslog protocol— OBSOLETE unix-stream, unix-dgram: Collecting messages from UNIX domain sockets stdin: Collecting messages from the standard input stream
destination: Forward, send, and store log messages
amqp: Publishing messages using AMQP elasticsearch: Sending messages directly to Elasticsearch version 1.x (DEPRECATED) elasticsearch2: Sending logs directly to Elasticsearch and Kibana 2.0 or higher file: Storing messages in plain-text files graphite: Sending metrics to Graphite Sending logs to Graylog hdfs: Storing messages on the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) Posting messages over HTTP http: Posting messages over HTTP without Java kafka: Publishing messages to Apache Kafka loggly: Using Loggly logmatic: Using Logmatic.io mongodb: Storing messages in a MongoDB database network: Sending messages to a remote log server using the RFC3164 protocol (network() driver) osquery: Sending log messages to osquery's syslog table pipe: Sending messages to named pipes program: Sending messages to external applications pseudofile() python: writing custom Python destinations redis: Storing name-value pairs in Redis riemann: Monitoring your data with Riemann slack: Sending alerts and notifications to a Slack channel smtp: Generating SMTP messages (e-mail) from logs Splunk: Sending log messages to Splunk sql: Storing messages in an SQL database stomp: Publishing messages using STOMP syslog: Sending messages to a remote logserver using the IETF-syslog protocol syslog-ng: Forwarding messages and tags to another syslog-ng node tcp, tcp6, udp, udp6: Sending messages to a remote log server using the legacy BSD-syslog protocol (tcp(), udp() drivers) Telegram: Sending messages to Telegram unix-stream, unix-dgram: Sending messages to UNIX domain sockets usertty: Sending messages to a user terminal: usertty() destination Write your own custom destination in Java or Python Client-side failover
log: Filter and route log messages using log paths, flags, and filters Global options of syslog-ng OSE TLS-encrypted message transfer template and rewrite: Format, modify, and manipulate log messages parser: Parse and segment structured messages db-parser: Process message content with a pattern database (patterndb) Correlating log messages Enriching log messages with external data Statistics of syslog-ng Multithreading and scaling in syslog-ng OSE Troubleshooting syslog-ng Best practices and examples The syslog-ng manual pages Third-party contributions Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) License About us

network: Sending messages to a remote log server using the RFC3164 protocol (network() driver)

The network() destination driver can send syslog messages conforming to RFC3164 from the network using the TCP, TLS, and UDP networking protocols.

  • UDP is a simple datagram oriented protocol, which provides "best effort service" to transfer messages between hosts. It may lose messages, and no attempt is made to retransmit lost messages. The BSD-syslog protocol traditionally uses UDP.

    Use UDP only if you have no other choice.

  • TCP provides connection-oriented service: the client and the server establish a connection, each message is acknowledged, and lost packets are resent. TCP can detect lost connections, and messages are lost, only if the TCP connection breaks. When a TCP connection is broken, messages that the client has sent but were not yet received on the server are lost.

  • The syslog-ng application supports TLS (Transport Layer Security, also known as SSL) over TCP. For details, see Encrypting log messages with TLS.

Declaration:
network("<destination-address>" [options]);

The network() destination has a single required parameter that specifies the destination host address where messages should be sent. If name resolution is configured, you can use the hostname of the target server. By default, syslog-ng OSE sends messages using the TCP protocol to port 601.

Example: Using the network() driver

TCP destination that sends messages to 10.1.2.3, port 1999:

destination d_tcp { network("10.1.2.3" port(1999)); };

If name resolution is configured, you can use the hostname of the target server as well.

destination d_tcp { network("target_host" port(1999)); };

TCP destination that sends messages to the ::1 IPv6 address, port 2222.

destination d_tcp6 {
    network(
        "::1"
        port(2222)
        transport(tcp)
        ip-protocol(6)
        );
};

To send messages using the IETF-syslog message format without using the IETF-syslog protocol, enable the syslog-protocol flag. (For details on how to use the IETF-syslog protocol, see syslog() destination options.)

destination d_tcp { network("10.1.2.3" port(1999) flags(syslog-protocol) ); };

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network() destination options

The network() driver sends messages to a remote host (for example a syslog-ng server or relay) on the local intranet or internet using the RFC3164 syslog protocol (for details about the protocol, see BSD-syslog or legacy-syslog messages). The network() driver supports sending messages using the UDP, TCP, or the encrypted TLS networking protocols.

These destinations have the following options:

disk-buffer()

Description: This option enables putting outgoing messages into the disk buffer of the destination to avoid message loss in case of a system failure on the destination side. It has the following options:

reliable()
Type: yes|no
Default: no

Description: If set to yes, syslog-ng OSE cannot lose logs in case of reload/restart, unreachable destination or syslog-ng OSE crash. This solution provides a slower, but reliable disk-buffer option. It is created and initialized at startup and gradually grows as new messages arrive. If set to no, the normal disk-buffer will be used. This provides a faster, but less reliable disk-buffer option.

Caution:

Hazard of data loss! If you change the value of reliable() option when there are messages in the disk-buffer, the messages stored in the disk-buffer will be lost.

dir()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines the folder where the disk-buffer files are stored.

Caution:

When creating a new dir() option for a disk buffer, or modifying an existing one, make sure you delete the persist file.

syslog-ng OSE creates disk-buffer files based on the path recorded in the persist file. Therefore, if the persist file is not deleted after modifying the dir() option, then following a restart, syslog-ng OSE will look for or create disk-buffer files in their old location. To ensure that syslog-ng OSE uses the new dir() setting, the persist file must not contain any information about the destinations which the disk-buffer file in question belongs to.

disk-buf-size()
Type: number (bytes)
Default:

Description: This is a required option. The maximum size of the disk-buffer in bytes. The minimum value is 1048576 bytes. If you set a smaller value, the minimum value will be used automatically. It replaces the old log-disk-fifo-size() option.
mem-buf-length()
Type: number (messages)
Default: 10000
Description: Use this option if the option reliable() is set to no. This option contains the number of messages stored in overflow queue. It replaces the old log-fifo-size() option. It inherits the value of the global log-fifo-size() option if provided. If it is not provided, the default value is 10000 messages. Note that this option will be ignored if the option reliable() is set to yes.
mem-buf-size()
Type: number (bytes)
Default: 163840000
Description: Use this option if the option reliable() is set to yes. This option contains the size of the messages in bytes that is used in the memory part of the disk buffer. It replaces the old log-fifo-size() option. It does not inherit the value of the global log-fifo-size() option, even if it is provided. Note that this option will be ignored if the option reliable() is set to no.
qout-size()
Type: number (messages)
Default: 64
Description: The number of messages stored in the output buffer of the destination. Note that if you change the value of this option and the disk-buffer already exists, the change will take effect when the disk-buffer becomes empty.

Options reliable() and disk-buf-size() are required options.

Example: Examples for using disk-buffer()

In the following case reliable disk-buffer() is used.

destination d_demo {
    network(
        "127.0.0.1"
        port(3333)
        disk-buffer(
            mem-buf-size(10000)
            disk-buf-size(2000000)
            reliable(yes)
            dir("/tmp/disk-buffer")
        )
    );
};

In the following case normal disk-buffer() is used.

destination d_demo {
    network(
        "127.0.0.1"
        port(3333)
           disk-buffer(
            mem-buf-length(10000)
            disk-buf-size(2000000)
            reliable(no)
            dir("/tmp/disk-buffer")
        )
    );
};
failover()

Description: Available only in syslog-ng Open Source Edition version 3.17 and later. For details about how client-side failover works, see Client-side failover.

servers()
Type: list of IP addresses and fully-qualified domain names
Default: empty

Description: Specifies a secondary destination server where log messages are sent if the primary server becomes inaccessible. To list several failover servers, separate the address of the servers with comma. By default, syslog-ng OSE waits for the a server before switching to the next failover server is set in the time-reopen() option.

If failback() is not set, syslog-ng OSE does not attempt to return to the primary server even if it becomes available. In case the failover server fails, syslog-ng OSE attempts to connect the next failover server in the list in round-robin fashion.

Caution:

The failover servers must be accessible on the same port as the primary server.

failback()

Description: Available only in syslog-ng Open Source Edition version 3.17 and later.

When syslog-ng OSE starts up, it always connects to the primary server first. In the failover() option there is a possibility to customize the failover modes.

Depending on how you set the failback() option, syslog-ng OSE behaves as follows:

  • round-robin mode: If failback() is not set, syslog-ng OSE does not attempt to return to the primary server even if it becomes available. In case the failover server fails, syslog-ng OSE attempts to connect the next failover server in the list in round-robin fashion.

    Example: round-robin mode

    In the following example syslog-ng OSE handles the logservers in round-robin fashion if the primary logserver becomes inaccessible (therefore failback() option is not set).

    destination d_network {
         network(
              "primary-server.com"
              port(601)
              failover( servers("failover-server1", "failover-server2") )
    );  
    };
  • failback mode: If failback() is set, syslog-ng OSE attempts to return to the primary server.

    After syslog-ng OSE connects a secondary server during a failover, it sends a probe every tcp-probe-interval() seconds towards the primary server. If the primary logserver responds with a TCP ACK packet, the probe is successful. When the number of successful probes reaches the value set in the successful-probes-required() option, syslog-ng OSE tries to connect the primary server using the last probe.

    NOTE:syslog-ng OSE always waits for the result of the last probe before sending the next message. So if one connection attempt takes longer than the configured interval, that is, it waits for connection time out, you may experience longer intervals between actual probes.

    Example: failback mode

    In the following example syslog-ng OSE attempts to return to the primary logserver, as set in the failback() option: it will check if the server is accessible every tcp-probe-interval() seconds, and reconnect to the primary logserver after three successful connection attempts.

    destination d_network_2 {
         network(
              "primary-server.com"
              port(601)
              failover( 
    		servers("failover-server1", "failover-server2")
                   failback(
                        successful-probes-required()
                        tcp-probe-interval()
                   )
              )
    );  
    };

Default value for tcp-probe-interval(): 60 seconds

Default value for successful-probes-required(): 3

NOTE:

This option is not available for the connection-less UDP protocol, because in this case the client does not detect that the destination becomes inaccessible.

flags()
Type: no-multi-line, syslog-protocol
Default: empty set

Description: Flags influence the behavior of the destination driver.

  • no-multi-line: The no-multi-line flag disables line-breaking in the messages: the entire message is converted to a single line.

  • syslog-protocol: The syslog-protocol flag instructs the driver to format the messages according to the new IETF syslog protocol standard (RFC5424), but without the frame header. If this flag is enabled, macros used for the message have effect only for the text of the message, the message header is formatted to the new standard. Note that this flag is not needed for the syslog driver, and that the syslog driver automatically adds the frame header to the messages.

flush-lines()
Type: number
Default: Use global setting (exception: for http() destination, the default is 1).

Description: Specifies how many lines are flushed to a destination at a time. The syslog-ng OSE application waits for this number of lines to accumulate and sends them off in a single batch. Increasing this number increases throughput as more messages are sent in a single batch, but also increases message latency.

The syslog-ng OSE application flushes the messages if it has sent flush-lines() number of messages, or the queue became empty. If you stop or reload syslog-ng OSE or in case of network sources, the connection with the client is closed, syslog-ng OSE automatically sends the unsent messages to the destination.

For optimal performance when sending messages to an syslog-ng OSE server, make sure that the value of flush-lines() is smaller than the window size set in the log-iw-size() option in the source of your server.

frac-digits()
Type: number
Default: 0

Description: The syslog-ng application can store fractions of a second in the timestamps according to the ISO8601 format. The frac-digits() parameter specifies the number of digits stored. The digits storing the fractions are padded by zeros if the original timestamp of the message specifies only seconds. Fractions can always be stored for the time the message was received. Note that syslog-ng can add the fractions to non-ISO8601 timestamps as well.

hook-commands()

Description: This option makes it possible to execute external programs when the relevant driver is initialized or torn down. The hook-commands() can be used with all source and destination drivers with the exception of the usertty() and internal() drivers.

NOTE: The syslog-ng OSE application must be able to start and restart the external program, and have the necessary permissions to do so. For example, if your host is running AppArmor or SELinux, you might have to modify your AppArmor or SELinux configuration to enable syslog-ng OSE to execute external applications.

Using the hook-commands() when syslog-ng OSE starts or stops

To execute an external program when syslog-ng OSE starts or stops, use the following options:

startup()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines the external program that is executed as syslog-ng OSE starts.

shutdown()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines the external program that is executed as syslog-ng OSE stops.

Using the hook-commands() when syslog-ng OSE reloads

To execute an external program when the syslog-ng OSE configuration is initiated or torn down, for example, on startup/shutdown or during a syslog-ng OSE reload, use the following options:

setup()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines an external program that is executed when the syslog-ng OSE configuration is initiated, for example, on startup or during a syslog-ng OSE reload.

teardown()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines an external program that is executed when the syslog-ng OSE configuration is stopped or torn down, for example, on shutdown or during a syslog-ng OSE reload.

Example: Using the hook-commands() with a network source

In the following example, the hook-commands() is used with the network() driver and it opens an iptables port automatically as syslog-ng OSE is started/stopped.

The assumption in this example is that the LOGCHAIN chain is part of a larger ruleset that routes traffic to it. Whenever the syslog-ng OSE created rule is there, packets can flow, otherwise the port is closed.

source {
   network(transport(udp)
	hook-commands(
          startup("iptables -I LOGCHAIN 1 -p udp --dport 514 -j ACCEPT")
          shutdown("iptables -D LOGCHAIN 1")
        )
     );
};
ip-protocol()
Type: number
Default: 4

Description: Determines the internet protocol version of the given driver (network() or syslog()). The possible values are 4 and 6, corresponding to IPv4 and IPv6. The default value is ip-protocol(4).

Note that listening on a port using IPv6 automatically means that you are also listening on that port using IPv4. That is, if you want to have receive messages on an IP-address/port pair using both IPv4 and IPv6, create a source that uses the ip-protocol(6). You cannot have two sources with the same IP-address/port pair, but with different ip-protocol() settings (it causes an Address already in use error).

For example, the following source receives messages on TCP, using the network() driver, on every available interface of the host on both IPv4 and IPv6.

source s_network_tcp { network( transport("tcp") ip("::") ip-protocol(6) port(601) ); };
ip-tos()
Type: number
Default: 0

Description: Specifies the Type-of-Service value of outgoing packets.

ip-ttl()
Type: number
Default: 0

Description: Specifies the Time-To-Live value of outgoing packets.

keep-alive()
Type: yes or no
Default: yes

Description: Specifies whether connections to destinations should be closed when syslog-ng is reloaded. Note that this applies to the client (destination) side of the syslog-ng connections, server-side (source) connections are always reopened after receiving a HUP signal unless the keep-alive option is enabled for the source.

localip()
Type: string
Default: 0.0.0.0

Description: The IP address to bind to before connecting to target.

localport()
Type: number
Default: 0

Description: The port number to bind to. Messages are sent from this port.

log-fifo-size()
Type: number
Default: Use global setting.

Description: The number of messages that the output queue can store.

mark-freq()
Accepted values: number [seconds]
Default: 1200

Description: An alias for the obsolete mark() option, retained for compatibility with syslog-ng version 1.6.x.

The number of seconds between two MARK messages. MARK messages are generated when there was no message traffic to inform the receiver that the connection is still alive. If set to zero (0), no MARK messages are sent. The mark-freq() can be set for global option and/or every MARK capable destination driver if mark-mode() is periodical or dst-idle or host-idle. If mark-freq() is not defined in the destination, then the mark-freq() will be inherited from the global options. If the destination uses internal mark-mode(), then the global mark-freq() will be valid (does not matter what mark-freq() set in the destination side).

mark-mode()
Accepted values: internal | dst-idle | host-idle | periodical | none | global
Default:

internal for pipe, program drivers

none for file, unix-dgram, unix-stream drivers

global for syslog, tcp, udp destinations

host-idle for global option

Description: The mark-mode() option can be set for the following destination drivers: file(), program(), unix-dgram(), unix-stream(), network(), pipe(), syslog() and in global option.

  • internal: When internal mark mode is selected, internal source should be placed in the log path as this mode does not generate mark by itself at the destination. This mode only yields the mark messages from internal source. This is the mode as syslog-ng OSE 3.3 worked. MARK will be generated by internal source if there was NO traffic on local sources:

    file(), pipe(), unix-stream(), unix-dgram(), program()

  • dst-idle: Sends MARK signal if there was NO traffic on destination drivers. MARK signal from internal source will be dropped.

    MARK signal can be sent by the following destination drivers: network(), syslog(), program(), file(), pipe(), unix-stream(), unix-dgram().

  • host-idle: Sends MARK signal if there was NO local message on destination drivers. For example MARK is generated even if messages were received from tcp. MARK signal from internal source will be dropped.

    MARK signal can be sent by the following destination drivers: network(), syslog(), program(), file(), pipe(), unix-stream(), unix-dgram().

  • periodical: Sends MARK signal perodically, regardless of traffic on destination driver. MARK signal from internal source will be dropped.

    MARK signal can be sent by the following destination drivers: network(), syslog(), program(), file(), pipe(), unix-stream(), unix-dgram().

  • none: Destination driver drops all MARK messages. If an explicit mark-mode() is not given to the drivers where none is the default value, then none will be used.

  • global: Destination driver uses the global mark-mode() setting. Note that setting the global mark-mode() to global causes a syntax error in syslog-ng OSE.

NOTE:

In case of dst-idle, host-idle and periodical, the MARK message will not be written in the destination, if it is not open yet.

Available in syslog-ng OSE 3.4 and later.

port() or destport()
Type: number
Default: 601

Description: The port number to connect to. Note that the default port numbers used by syslog-ng do not comply with the latest RFC which was published after the release of syslog-ng 3.0.2, therefore the default port numbers will change in the future releases.

so-broadcast()
Type: yes or no
Default: no

Description: This option controls the SO_BROADCAST socket option required to make syslog-ng send messages to a broadcast address. For details, see the socket(7) manual page.

so-keepalive()
Type: yes or no
Default: no

Description: Enables keep-alive messages, keeping the socket open. This only effects TCP and UNIX-stream sockets. For details, see the socket(7) manual page.

so-rcvbuf()
Type: number
Default: 0

Description: Specifies the size of the socket receive buffer in bytes. For details, see the socket(7) manual page.

so-sndbuf()
Type: number
Default: 0

Description: Specifies the size of the socket send buffer in bytes. For details, see the socket(7) manual page.

spoof-source()
Type: yes or no
Default: no

Description: Enables source address spoofing. This means that the host running syslog-ng generates UDP packets with the source IP address matching the original sender of the message. It is useful when you want to perform some kind of preprocessing via syslog-ng then forward messages to your central log management solution with the source address of the original sender. This option only works for UDP destinations though the original message can be received by TCP as well. This option is only available if syslog-ng was compiled using the --enable-spoof-source configuration option.

Caution:

To use spoofing on Microsoft Windows platforms, you must also set the spoof-interface() option as well.

suppress()
Type: seconds
Default: 0 (disabled)

Description: If several identical log messages would be sent to the destination without any other messages between the identical messages (for example, an application repeated an error message ten times), syslog-ng can suppress the repeated messages and send the message only once, followed by the Last message repeated n times. message. The parameter of this option specifies the number of seconds syslog-ng waits for identical messages.

tcp-keepalive-intvl()
Type: number [seconds]
Default: 0

Description: Specifies the interval (number of seconds) between subsequential keepalive probes, regardless of the traffic exchanged in the connection. This option is equivalent to /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_keepalive_intvl. The default value is 0, which means using the kernel default.

Caution:

The tcp-keepalive-time(), tcp-keepalive-probes(), and tcp-keepalive-intvl() options only work on platforms which support the TCP_KEEPCNT, TCP_KEEPIDLE,and TCP_KEEPINTVL setsockopts. Currently, this is Linux.

A connection that has no traffic is closed after tcp-keepalive-time() + tcp-keepalive-intvl() * tcp-keepalive-probes() seconds.

Available in syslog-ng OSE version 3.4 and later.

tcp-keepalive-probes()
Type: number
Default: 0

Description: Specifies the number of unacknowledged probes to send before considering the connection dead. This option is equivalent to /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_keepalive_probes. The default value is 0, which means using the kernel default.

Caution:

The tcp-keepalive-time(), tcp-keepalive-probes(), and tcp-keepalive-intvl() options only work on platforms which support the TCP_KEEPCNT, TCP_KEEPIDLE,and TCP_KEEPINTVL setsockopts. Currently, this is Linux.

A connection that has no traffic is closed after tcp-keepalive-time() + tcp-keepalive-intvl() * tcp-keepalive-probes() seconds.

Available in syslog-ng OSE version 3.4 and later.

tcp-keepalive-time()
Type: number [seconds]
Default: 0

Description: Specifies the interval (in seconds) between the last data packet sent and the first keepalive probe. This option is equivalent to /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_keepalive_time. The default value is 0, which means using the kernel default.

Caution:

The tcp-keepalive-time(), tcp-keepalive-probes(), and tcp-keepalive-intvl() options only work on platforms which support the TCP_KEEPCNT, TCP_KEEPIDLE,and TCP_KEEPINTVL setsockopts. Currently, this is Linux.

A connection that has no traffic is closed after tcp-keepalive-time() + tcp-keepalive-intvl() * tcp-keepalive-probes() seconds.

Available in syslog-ng OSE version 3.4 and later.

template()
Type: string
Default: A format conforming to the default logfile format.

Description: Specifies a template defining the logformat to be used in the destination. Macros are described in Macros of syslog-ng OSE. Please note that for network destinations it might not be appropriate to change the template as it changes the on-wire format of the syslog protocol which might not be tolerated by stock syslog receivers (like syslogd or syslog-ng itself). For network destinations make sure the receiver can cope with the custom format defined.

NOTE:

If a message uses the IETF-syslog format (RFC5424), only the text of the message can be customized (that is, the $MESSAGE part of the log), the structure of the header is fixed.

template-escape()
Type: yes or no
Default: no

Description: Turns on escaping for the ', ", and backspace characters in templated output files. This is useful for generating SQL statements and quoting string contents so that parts of the log message are not interpreted as commands to the SQL server.

throttle()
Type: number
Default: 0

Description: Sets the maximum number of messages sent to the destination per second. Use this output-rate-limiting functionality only when using disk-buffer as well to avoid the risk of losing messages. Specifying 0 or a lower value sets the output limit to unlimited.

time-zone()
Type: name of the timezone, or the timezone offset
Default: unspecified

Description: Convert timestamps to the timezone specified by this option. If this option is not set, then the original timezone information in the message is used. Converting the timezone changes the values of all date-related macros derived from the timestamp, for example, HOUR. For the complete list of such macros, see Date-related macros.

The timezone can be specified by using the name, for example, time-zone("Europe/Budapest")), or as the timezone offset in +/-HH:MM format, for example, +01:00). On Linux and UNIX platforms, the valid timezone names are listed under the /usr/share/zoneinfo directory.

tls()
Type: tls options
Default: n/a

Description: This option sets various options related to TLS encryption, for example, key/certificate files and trusted CA locations. TLS can be used only with tcp-based transport protocols. For details, see TLS options.

transport()
Type: udp, tcp, or tls
Default: tcp

Description: Specifies the protocol used to send messages to the destination server.

If you use the udp transport, syslog-ng OSE automatically sends multicast packets if a multicast destination address is specified. The tcp transport does not support multicasting.

ts-format()
Type: rfc3164, bsd, rfc3339, iso
Default: rfc3164

Description: Override the global timestamp format (set in the global ts-format() parameter) for the specific destination. For details, see ts-format().

NOTE:

This option applies only to file and file-like destinations. Destinations that use specific protocols (for example, network(), or syslog()) ignore this option. For protocol-like destinations, use a template locally in the destination, or use the proto-template option.


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osquery: Sending log messages to osquery's syslog table

The osquery() driver sends log messages to osquery's syslog table.

The syslog table contains logs forwarded over a named pipe from syslog-ng. When an osquery process that supports the syslog table starts up, it creates (and properly sets permissions for) a named pipe for syslog-ng to write to.

Example: Using the osquery() destination driver

Run osqueryi:

osqueryi --enable_syslog
         --disable-events=false

To store the database on disk:

osqueryi --enable_syslog
         --disable-events=false
         --database_path=/tmp/osquery.db

To set up a custom named pipe:

osqueryi --enable_syslog
         --disable-events=false
         --database_path=/tmp/osquery.db
         --syslog_pipe_path=/tmp/osq.pipe

Example configuration:

@version: 3.12
@include "scl.conf"

source s_net {
  network(port(5514));
};

destination d_osquery {
  # custom pipe path:
  #osquery(pipe("/tmp/osq.pipe"));

  # backup outgoing logs:
  #osquery(file("/var/log/osquery_inserts.log" template(t_osquery)));

  # defaults
  osquery();
};

log {
 source(s_net);
 destination(d_osquery);
 flags(flow-control);
};

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osquery() destination options

The osquery() destination has the following options:

file()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Specifies a path to the file where log messages are stored, for example, for debug purposes.

Specifying this option is optional. However, when you start losing logs for some reason, then it is recommended to write outgoing log messages to a specified file, in the same format that messages are written to the pipe. You can also use a template() function called t_osquery, which re-formats messages so they comply with the text-based protocol that osquery accepts.

hook-commands()

Description: This option makes it possible to execute external programs when the relevant driver is initialized or torn down. The hook-commands() can be used with all source and destination drivers with the exception of the usertty() and internal() drivers.

NOTE: The syslog-ng OSE application must be able to start and restart the external program, and have the necessary permissions to do so. For example, if your host is running AppArmor or SELinux, you might have to modify your AppArmor or SELinux configuration to enable syslog-ng OSE to execute external applications.

Using the hook-commands() when syslog-ng OSE starts or stops

To execute an external program when syslog-ng OSE starts or stops, use the following options:

startup()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines the external program that is executed as syslog-ng OSE starts.

shutdown()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines the external program that is executed as syslog-ng OSE stops.

Using the hook-commands() when syslog-ng OSE reloads

To execute an external program when the syslog-ng OSE configuration is initiated or torn down, for example, on startup/shutdown or during a syslog-ng OSE reload, use the following options:

setup()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines an external program that is executed when the syslog-ng OSE configuration is initiated, for example, on startup or during a syslog-ng OSE reload.

teardown()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Defines an external program that is executed when the syslog-ng OSE configuration is stopped or torn down, for example, on shutdown or during a syslog-ng OSE reload.

Example: Using the hook-commands() with a network source

In the following example, the hook-commands() is used with the network() driver and it opens an iptables port automatically as syslog-ng OSE is started/stopped.

The assumption in this example is that the LOGCHAIN chain is part of a larger ruleset that routes traffic to it. Whenever the syslog-ng OSE created rule is there, packets can flow, otherwise the port is closed.

source {
   network(transport(udp)
	hook-commands(
          startup("iptables -I LOGCHAIN 1 -p udp --dport 514 -j ACCEPT")
          shutdown("iptables -D LOGCHAIN 1")
        )
     );
};
pipe()
Type: string
Default: N/A

Description: Specifies a custom path to the named pipe that acts as the interface between osquery and syslog-ng. (The default path is set in the SCL file.)

Specifying this option is optional.


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